I need a sample of a western hemlock for a project, but am having a lot of trouble identifying one. I live in western WA, so they should be fairly abundant. I've looked at examples online and am still so confused, because I've never seen needles like the ones on Google Images for Tsuga Heterophylla needles. Here's the closest I can find. There's a photo of the top and underside of the sprig. Is this a western hemlock?

Its hard to say but the shape of the entire tree and the cones will tell you for sure.

Looks like Grand Fir you've got there. Western Hemlock is much smaller needles and very whispy, normally with a good droop to the small branch. You can normally find them growing on stumps of other trees or in the darker, more dense forest.

I found an entry for "nurse log" on wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... which describes the habit of this tree. They seem to like Western Red Cedar stumps so if you know somewhere that is consistently cool (near water, gully, etc) and has Western Red Cedar and likely huckleberry or blueberry or Rubus, you'll be sure to find a Western Hemlock. New roads through a wooded area are good spots to look.

I googled Western hemlock branch instead of tree, and clicked images and it really gave good examples of what you are after. This will help.

A couple of pics of Tsuga heterophylla, ....common name western hemlock

I have this tree in my yard. I cut it down and removed the bark. Over a couple of minutes the exposed wood turned a vibrant orange and stained my hands. What type pf tree is this and what is going on with the orange? Attached is a picture of a branch and picture of the wood.

Looks like a Hemlock to me. I was unaware of its hand-staining abilities.

LauraDale, your photos are not hemlock but are one of the true firs as islander said. The top of a western hemlock will rarely be vertical. It flops to the side like it is wilted.

It is a Western Hemlock. I learned in college many years ago that the way you tell is the underside of the needles or leaves. A hemlock has a thin green centerline or rib with 2 white lines. One on either side of the midvein which is green.

If I remember correctly, Western Hemlock needles are a bit longer then the Eastern Hemlock with which most of us are familiar with.
Plus when you look at these little branches from the side, they grow kind of flat. Kind of parallel to the ground. The needles don't grow in a swirl pattern but noticeably horizontal.

Here's our database entry for Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)

Before you make more suggestions, go back and read the dates: Nov. 2017, Nov. 2018, Aug. 2020 and now Feb. 2021. Longest running thread in history.

DaisyI said:Before you make more suggestions, go back and read the dates: Nov. 2017, Nov. 2018, Aug. 2020 and now Feb. 2021. Longest running thread in history.

Well ... ya got me!

Longevity must be an indication of abiding interest.

You got me. I am guilty as well!